Our Blog: Wea Team

Each Mother’s Day, we lift up and celebrate the work of mothers and community caregivers around the world. It is no easy task to nurture children, birth movements, or protect our shared future on Earth.

We know that you share our vision that through women’s leadership we can create a future of balance, health, and peace for our world, and we never forget that your partnership is making this vision possible — today and throughout our decade. This Mother’s Day, with your support, WEA’s carefully planted seeds can bloom.

WEA Project Lead Sunita Rao is the Director of Vanastree Collective and Project Lead for our Seeds of Resilience Project in Karnataka, India. Sunita’s work ensures that rural women leaders and small-scale forest home gardeners in one of the most richly biodiverse — and therefore severely threatened — regions of southern India can advocate for their rights, promote indigenous climate-resilient seed saving practices, and support climate adaptation and mitigation.

Sunita Rao teaching a group remotely about Indigenous seeds and the Vanastree seed bank to preserve this knowledge.

In her own reflection on what it means to nurture and protect, Sunita shared:

“Women…are able to sense the pulse of things in the natural world, which cannot be explained by words. It seems to happen almost by instinct, by an ancient calling that is written into their genetic code.

[It is] the feeling that happens to each of us as we touch our foreheads to the earth — the prostration is almost by reflex, unthinking, something you are so used to. Yet, each time there is that something that sparks off a connection to the Other, that almost gives you the power to be invincible while bringing that keen awareness that you are but a humble drop.

If you remember, that is — remember where the Source is, where the original loom where your own fabric was woven came from.

We are being bombarded by change that has made social and ecological refugees of many of us. In these dark times, the hope lies in the original memory of who we really are, in the primordial bond that connects us to the earth, in what we as women are capable of and…in keeping the sacred alive.

For it is this that will continue to nurture where all else fails. And this is what we must uphold, celebrate, and bring forth over and over again.”

In honor of our mothers — and all the unstoppable women in our lives — we invite you to make a tax-deductible contribution today. Stand with us and with leaders like Sunita as we remember the connection to our original loom, and preserve this hope for future generations.

From our hearts to yours, we wish you all the happiest of Mother’s Days!

There is a fire burning, and it’s only spreading. This fire is stoked by people around the world who are fiercely committed to ensuring a bright vision for our families and communities now and far into the future. Thank you so much for being a part of this vibrant, strategic, and resourceful Women’s Earth Alliance — a global community of changemakers who build bridges of peace, cultivate communities of resilience, and design lasting and immediate solutions to the issues we all care about.

We want you to know that we remain steadfast in our belief that when women thrive, the Earth thrives. We enter this tumultuous time committed more than ever to protecting our Earth from assault, ending gender-based violence, expanding women’s livelihood opportunities, supporting Indigenous leadership, and fighting destruction and greed.

We will choose this approach again and again because we know that if our world’s women are truly supported and united to lead, everyone wins.

We hope you will join alongside us as we continue to weave this life-giving work. We need you today more than ever. Even in these difficult times, we are uplifted because we are together. So, for women and girls everywhere, for activists and allies fighting for what’s just, for Indigenous land and water defenders, for those whose safety is under threat, for our beautiful future — we are here, ready to keep the flame burning and the path ablaze with light. Get on board with us!

Our team at WEA couldn’t be more proud to be a part of this historic event. “More than ever before, the priorities, the agency, and the vision of women is needed. Not only in our governments, but in our communities, in our grassroots movements, in our efforts to heal, protect, and nourish our planet” says WEA Founder and Co-Director, Melinda Kramer. “I’m inspired to stand in solidarity with my sisters in this country and around the world. This is an incredible opportunity to feel our collective strength; to learn from each other, and to refocus our shared vision for peace, justice, and a thriving world. This march is a reminder that women will continue to make our voices heard, and that we will show up again and again in service of our future generations.”

The vision, mission and principles of the Women’s March describe an inclusive path for co-powering one another that celebrates the unique strengths and gifts we each bring to our collective, and that lifts up all members of our communities. According to the Women’s March Guiding Principles:

Women’s rights are human rights, regardless of a woman’s race, ethnicity, religion, immigration status, sexual identity, gender expression, economic status, age or disability. We practice empathy with the intent to learn about the intersecting identities of each other. We will suspend our first judgement and do our best to lead without ego.

This election cycle put in stark relief the deep divisions that exist in our country — so much so that, at times, it can be easy to forget that there is also strength and unity and a belief not only in social, racial and gender equality, but in the undeniable truth that we are all connected, not only to one another, but to the earth. Now is the time to join together in our commitment to support and uplift the voices of those who may traditionally be left out of decision-making conversations, while at the same time often being those most impacted by those decisions. As women around the world working to ensure climate justice and a protected environment now and into the future, we understand this position.

We urge everyone to show up, not just for this march, but for each other. Make new connections to form networks and communities that will help us continue to build a strong collective for the work ahead; reinvest in those foundational connections that have been positive for you, for others, and for the earth. We are so strong when we unite, when we hear our sisters and hear ourselves.

Here at WEA, we’re extremely lucky that we get a chance to work with an incredible team of intelligent, inspirational interns. Fall is a busy time for us, and our team of rockstars helps us to stop cool, calm and creative! We’d love to introduce you to one of our awesome Programs + Operations Interns this fall — meet Katelynn!

Name: Katelynn MudgettHometown: Charlotte, North CarolinaIf she had a superpower, it would be (and why): I’d love to be able to fly. I enjoy hiking and when I get a really beautiful view of the mountains and surrounding area from high up, that’s when I wish I could fly over and in between them. Plus, whether it’s from a plane window or the ground, I always I could touch the clouds. Now that I think of it, it’d also be a fun environmentally friendly way to get around (I wouldn’t be using fossil fuels to get around, though there is still the concern about air pollution from other sources).

Why did you want to intern with WEA? WEA, for one, combines my two favorite passions which are environmental and women’s issues which I previously didn’t think intersected or that such an organization worked on that intersection. In college, I majored in Sustainable Development. I had thought about minoring in Women’s Studies, but decided that I didn’t need to take more classes than I needed to and again, wasn’t aware of the intersection. After discovering that connection called ecofeminism, I still wasn’t sure about having a minor since I didn’t think an organization like that existed. After typing key terms like women and earth into Facebook, to my surprise and delight, WEA was an organization that came up. That finally sealed the deal for me to minor in Women’s Studies. I, of course, kept an eye on WEA for any potential future work opportunities and the planets and stars finally aligned for me to be a part of this great organization that works to help women empower themselves.

Tell us about a woman who inspires you. Vandana Shiva. Through her various articles, papers, and books like Ecofeminism or Soil Not Oil that I read on my own and in my Women’s Studies classes, she helped show me how women and the environment connected, and explained in a no-nonsense approach about the problems of capitalism, the fossil fuel industry, monoculture, and so on. Plus, she works hard to help people fight these issues like with the Navdanya Organization that unites farmers for biodiversity of seeds, how to organically farm, and so on. In November 2014, I was actually able to see to her speak in person and get a picture with her when she gave a talk at Wake Forest University which was so exciting for me.

Why women and why the environment? Separately, environmental and women’s issues are interesting enough, but together, they’re even more so. Of course, everything is connected in one way or another even if you wouldn’t think so, but it’s so fascinating and important to actively and consciously work with these intersecting parts to truly have a positive, lasting impact and actually dismantles oppressive systems to build a better, inclusive world for everyone.

What does your life outside WEA look like? I hike, read, watch movies and t.v., ice skate, roller skate, check my social media, read some more, recycle, stay up late and sleep late when I can, find out how I can do more than just recycle to help save the environment, donate blood every eight weeks, and volunteer at places like Pets Lifeline of Sonoma Valley.

What’s your favorite thing to do in the Bay Area? Read in the shade, hike on all the beautiful trails and parks (there are so many!!).

What are you currently reading / watching / listening to? I’m reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas and currently am on the fourth book, Queen of Shadows. I’m currently listening to various podcasts such as Stuff Mom Never Told You and Stuff You Missed in History Class. Currently watching various shows such as Adam Ruins Everything on truTV, Queen Sugar on OWN, and Chesapeake Shores on Hallmark Channel. What movie I’m watching changes on a daily basis.

One of the best parts of being at WEA is getting the opportunity to spend time with talented, passionate and dedicated interns — like Kate! — who give their time so that our work is possible. With Fall starting, we welcome their fun, enthusiasm and new ideas to keep our energy high this season. We’d love to introduce you to this rockstar woman, and hope you join us in giving her a warm welcome to the WEA family!

Name: Kate AndersonHometown: Sausalito, CaliforniaIf she had a superpower, it would be: Being able to fly because I would love to be able to see the world from that perspective.

Why did you want to intern with WEA? I wanted to intern at WEA because the organization embodies two key elements in my personal and academic life: female empowerment and environmental sustainability. WEA seemed like the perfect place to explore and learn more about my passions and interests and get my hands dirty with real world problem solving.

Tell us about a woman who inspires you. My mom has inspired me from a young age due to her strength and independence. She has always enforced the idea that I can do anything I set my mind to, but to not be afraid to ask for help if I need it.

Why women and why the environment? I have always had a passion for the outdoors and studying conservation and resource studies has gotten me thinking about ways in which I can have a lasting a positive impact on todays environmental issues. Women are often the backbones of communities and it is through supporting them and providing information and tools for success that positive changes can be made.

What does your life outside WEA look like? Outside of WEA, I am a student at UC Berkeley studying Conservation and Resource Studies. I am a co-president for UC Berkeley Student-Athlete Gay Straight Alliance and was on the Cal women’s rowing team the last two years and have just made a shift over to the Cal women’s Rugby team. I love doing detailed drawings and traveling. I am always looking for the next adventure whether it’s visiting my twin sister at school up in Washington or going on a weekend backpacking trip to Yosemite.

What’s your favorite thing to do in the Bay Area? I love going on hikes and to the beaches out in West Marin as well as going to live music shows. I also enjoy going back to Marin and spending time at home with my parents and dogs.

What are you currently reading / watching / listening to? I am currently watching Law and Order and Game of Thrones, reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, and listening to Lake Street Dive.